UK: 30,000 in asylum limbo for more than six years

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 Jan 13:41

13,000 asylum seekers have been in the United Kingdom for more than a decade while their claims are heard.

An activist holds a banner during a protest against UK's plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda (Reuters)

Official records show that over 30,000 asylum seekers have been waiting in Britain for more than six years while their claims are heard.

Nearly half - 13,000 - have been in the UK for more than a decade. According to Home Office numbers obtained through a Freedom of Information request made by The Sun on Sunday, 60,290 cases have been ongoing for at least three years. For 10 years, 12,994 people had been in limbo.

Migrants are processed at centers before being housed in hotels or bed and breakfasts, which costs more than £2 billion per year but is expected to rise to £3.5 billion this year.

Commenting on this issue, Migration Watch chairman Alp Mehmet said: "If, after ten years, it is still not possible to make a decision, the claim is clearly pretty weak," pointing out that "Such failures are the result of dithering and indecision. It’s an absolute disgrace."

At the moment, approximately 150,000 asylum seekers are awaiting a decision on their status.

The government intended to prevent the arrival of asylum seekers with a contentious plan to process persons in Rwanda, but this has also been challenged in court. It is currently considering raising its resources and improving its collaboration with French authorities.

Meanwhile, a Home Office spokesperson said: "We have established an Asylum Action Group to focus on increasing productivity within the asylum system and speed up the processing of claims."

The UK has already been in hot water over defending its Rwanda deportation policy, which involves Britain deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda thousands of miles away. In late December, the London High Court ruled that Britain's proposal to deport migrants to Rwanda is legal.

The arrangement has been strongly condemned by rights groups, church leaders, and the United Nations, not to mention that it threatens to overshadow this week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).